


mini golf is an art form, aaron

by reinacadeea



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Bar West, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, involves minigolf, it's not a story about it though not really, only romantic undertones, robert is a good friend, the space mountain that kicks robert's ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:22:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5993029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinacadeea/pseuds/reinacadeea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robert and Aaron, trying out that whole friends thing</p>
            </blockquote>





	mini golf is an art form, aaron

**Author's Note:**

> my muse has been stuck on other projects that has very little to do with robron since the new year. especially with this harrowing storyline. i just haven't been able to picture anything overly romantic at all. so a story about friendship it is.

-

Day in and day out, everything is miserable. It isn't Robert who is miserable, not really, not in the gut-wrenching way Aaron gets up every day and has to face the world.

Robert is all right.

Aaron has given him purpose in a way. Not in a romantic way, but in the way he needs help, someone fighting in his corner no matter what. In a weird way, Robert likes the responsibility. He's not a Dingle. He has no rules to adhere to. He can say what he wants and everyone knows he's on Aaron's side.

"So," he says one very not so interesting day. "We're mates."

Aaron looks up from his pint for the first time in an hour, looking surprised Robert is still there. "Suppose so," he says with a shrug.

"We should go do some... thing?" Robert asks tentatively.

"We're doing something," Aaron says with a frown, pointedly looking around the pub.

"We sit in the pub, drinking," Robert says.

"Mates drink in pubs."

"Aaron," he says softly. "You're going to drive yourself insane if you don't do something else soon."

It's strange that no matter what happens, through months and months, Aaron always manage to surprise him. Telling Aaron needs to get away from his dad's looming presence, doesn't mean he's actually going to do it. Robert just wants to plant an idea and for Aaron to mull over the idea.

Aaron finishes his pint in one go, stands up and stalks out of the pub.

Robert throws some money in Chas' general direction and follows him quickly.

"I want to play mini golf," Aaron says when Robert catches up to him by the Polo.

"I can do mini golf,' Robert says with a big smile.

"Good, cos you're buying first round," Aaron says.

-

Aaron has never played mini golf.

“You can’t do that,” Robert says mock-outraged the sixth time Aaron shoots the little ball outside the course. 

It’s a Thursday at noon and they are basically by themselves. 

Aaron lifts his club up against his shoulder and frowns at where the ball has landed on a different course. 

“You have never played mini golf before, have you?” Robert states and shoots him a knowing smirk. 

Aaron shrugs. “So, what if I haven’t? It can’t be that hard.”

They are on the third course and Aaron is hopelessly behind. 

“Mini golf is an art form,” Robert says and yes, he is aware he sounds horribly pretentious when he says it. “You have to have a gentle touch – otherwise the bloody ball will end somewhere it shouldn’t.”

Aaron rolls his eyes just as Robert expected. “Do ya listen to what comes out of your mouth sometimes?”

“Nope,” Robert answers truthfully. “Otherwise I would have a vastly different life.”

“Stuck with me now, ain’t ya,” Aaron says and brings the club down on the fake grass covering the course. 

Robert watches his tongue peeking out almost mesmerised and follows the curve of his back as Aaron takes the new shot. 

He coughs uncomfortably and turns away to take another drink from his pint. Now isn’t the time. Mates. That’s all. Mates who mini golfs. 

When he turns back around, he sees Aaron’s triumphant look at where his ball landed. “Good one. Now, take it easy.”

Aaron’s jumper is covering his hands, almost frayed at the edges from worrying constantly. It would be cute if it wasn’t so horrible. 

“Best one yet,” Robert tells him when Aaron manages a five. “You’ll learn yet.”

“Not everyone can have your talents with balls,” Aaron says and the air around them charges, implying something they toe with a very fine line. Aaron seems the instantly recognise what came out of his mouth and flushes, his shoulders hunching up around his ears uncomfortably. 

Robert grabs his little purple ball from his trouser pocket and grips his club, throwing Aaron a knowing smile. “You haven’t played mini golf without at least ten innuendos,” he says winking and gets on with the game. “Keep up or I will annihilate you.”

Aaron sets his jaw annoyed. “Game on, Sugden.”

\--

They are both comfortably drunk when they make it to the last difficult course, the Space Mountain. 

“This is impossible,” Robert mutters under his breath as he bends his knees just a bit and grips the handle comfortably. 

“You’re not gonna make it,” Aaron remarks from the side of the course, leaning against a fake tree. 

“Shut up, Aaron,” Robert hisses, furrowing his brows in concentration. He botches and the ball quickly falls back towards him uselessly, making it his ninth botched attempt. 

Aaron snickers loudly.

Robert shoots him a dark look. “Remind me what your count was, oh Glorious Master of the Space Mountain?” Aaron stops laughing and crosses his arms. “Didn’t think so, mate,” Robert says and goes back for his final shot. 

Robert is on his fifteenth attempt when Aaron finally snatches the ball from rolling back down the ramp and plumbs it into the hole unceremoniously. “What did you do that for? I was really close!” Robert says outraged. 

“No, you weren’t,” Aaron says and swirls his club. “We could stay here the whole day or we could get chips. I know what I want more.”

\--

Chips involve a pub… well, a bar. Bar West. 

“You might beat me in mini golf, but pool, I’ve got you beat,” Aaron says when he opens the door for Robert. 

Robert turns off his head and follows Aaron inside. They are just mates and making Aaron feel good is really the only thing important right now. 

He also discovers that actually Bar West actually does really good chips. 

“Good, yeah?” Aaron smirks when Robert finishes half his plate in almost one go. 

“I like chips,” Robert says and pops another one in his mouth. 

Aaron grins at him, making something flourish in his belly. “Everyone loves chips.”

They make idle chit chat for what feels like hours, talking about exactly nothing and Robert can’t remember the last time Aaron stopped pretending he was all right. But they don’t talk about that, about the harrowing weeks they’ve gone through, how Aaron is hanging onto a thread and how Robert fears that one day he won’t be around to catch Aaron’s fall. 

Mates is good. Mates are important. 

\--

Aaron smokes, a fact that until recently Robert didn’t know. It’s a stress thing, he knows. 

The smoke curls around them both outside the pub where they are waiting for a taxi. It’s foul, the stench, but Aaron is leaning against his shoulder, arm to arm, and he has no intention of moving away by his own violation before absolutely necessary. 

“This whole friend thing,” Aaron says and breathes out another smoke-filled exhale. “You don’t want to be my friend.”

Robert painstakingly looks away from him and shuffles his foot a bit. “It’s all right,” he says finally. “Better than the alternative.”

Aaron tilts his head. “Than…?” 

“Not friends.” 

“We’re not very good at this whole friends thing,” Aaron says. 

“Depends on how you define it, I suppose,” Robert tells him, shrugging. “I just want to be there… for everything.”

“You are,” Aaron says. “Thanks.”

“Even when I beat you in mini golf?” Robert asks. 

Aaron snorts. “Especially then.”

 

Fin (13-2-16)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr as reinacadeea. come say hi and please let me know what you think


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